This time of year is tough for degree apprenticeship seekers. Your friends and peers who have chosen to stay in traditional education and apply to university will be receiving their offers. They may have even submitted their firm/insurance choice, be applying to student finance and looking at accommodation in their new town/city. It can be hard not to feel as though you are being left behind!
We’ve put together some of our top tips of how you can stay resilient, calm and positive even though your journey, and timeline, will be different to your university applying friends.
Make sure you have time set aside each week for your apprenticeship search. The weeks feel as though they are flying by at the moment and, before we know it, it’s Friday again! Don’t let a single week go by without checking the apprenticeship job boards (our provider’s opportunities are linked here), applying for the ones you are interested in and following up with employers you haven’t heard back from.
You can do this across one afternoon, or split it up into a few one hours sessions throughout the week. Hopefully, you are enjoying reading about opportunities and your search doesn't feel laborious!
Also make sure you are taking part in things to add to your CV, especially once Year 13 has come to an end. If an employer looks at one CV and the person has done an online course, taken part in virtual work experience and read three relevant books vs a second CV where the person hasn’t done anything for several months - who do you think they are going to request for an interview?
We’d also recommend having regular contact about your applications with anyone that is in a position to support you. This may be a friend, family member, teacher or career advisor. Weekly or fortnightly meetings will help you to gain support on things like applications, interview preparing and keeping on top of your workload/applications.
Celebrate the little things. By little things, we mean a successful interview, getting through to the next stage of an application or (touch wood) getting offered a position! By celebrate, we mean reward yourself with your favourite meal, buy yourself a treat or organise time with friends/family. Rewards don’t have to be super expensive, they just need to give you a short amount of time to say “yes, this is good progress”. Enjoy these moments”
Also think about printing off some positive quotes and putting them around your work space. An alternative to this could be to download a motivation app, there are lots available and they notify you with a positive message each day. Reading them can keep you positive!
Lastly, please remember, two flowers next to each other in the same pot will bloom at different times. The important thing is, they both bloom. And neither are concerned with the flower next to them. Focus on your own growth and everything will fall into place. Good luck!
